


Rivalry Stage 1

by amaniblue (amani101)



Series: Rivalry Saga [1]
Category: Initial D
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Gen, Humor, Light Angst, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-21
Updated: 2012-12-21
Packaged: 2017-11-21 22:54:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/602980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amani101/pseuds/amaniblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU continuation of the anime timeline at the end of Initial D 3rd stage the movie. What if plot where shonenai fever meets the Gunma district.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Unfortunately, since this is the beginning I'll have to bore you with the disclaimers and writer's privilege crap. The story and characters of Initial D and Kizuna does not belong to me but to its respective owners. I am merely fantasizing about them in writing. All events and additional characters are fictional. Furthermore assumptions are made towards places, character's occupation, etc. And no I have not studied the manga, so I don't know much about the details there. This is base almost entirely on the anime series. Also this is not really a crossover with Kizuna since I am only using the famous surname and reference to the yakuza clan. Certain Japanese idiosyncrasies will be used such as the use of -san, -chan, and -kuns with names, orientation of name, and everyday items like food. Keep in mind I am writing them as if their speaking Japanese but translated in English. So certain phrases might sound awkward.

/Redsuns' body shop – Friday night/

Fujiwara Takumi adorn in a borrowed gray mechanic jumpsuit splotched with motor oil and axel grease, gently lean over the engine of his beloved Trueno AE86 to apply his recent lessons in engine tuning. With a final twist of his wrist, Takumi lock the lug nut in place, then clip the metallic sensor clips to the engine. Reaching for a rag that was hanging loosely from his back pocket, he began to wipe his grease covered hands.

_Now for the hard part_ , Takumi thought as he absently wipe his hands clean. A slight crease form on the bridge of his nose as he contemplated what to do. The equipment where the sensors were attached look daunting to him with all its buttons and switches. He never was comfortable using complicated gadgets, especially a sophisticated computer test system like this. That lingering fear that he might break it somehow overtook him for a brief moment before he slowly raised a finger and began punching in the sequence to run the test. Occasionally he would sneak a peek at the notes he took in his journal. When no error messages appear on the monitor, Takumi breathed a sigh of relief. He then took a couple of steps towards the driver side and wave at the occupant sitting there.

Takahashi Keisuke was bored. Way bored. So bored he couldn't believe that he'd actually just read an article on fuel cells technology in the latest issue of _Euro Motor Magazine_ that he's currently holding. Just when he was thinking that Takumi was taking his sweet time tuning the old bucket of bolts, he made a cursory glance up, saw the signal and jumped to attention. More than ready to help his brother's new protégé, Keisuke quickly toss the magazine to the passenger seat, started the engine then stepped on the accelerator.

Stretching his neck out the open driver side door, Keisuke yelled over the engine's roar, "Sounds good, but how does it look?"

Takumi didn't quite know how to respond to that question. Only twice, earlier, had he been shown how to use the stationary dynamometer. Unsure, he glanced quickly at the computer monitor across from him and shrugged.

The blond driver smirked at Takumi's typical response. Keisuke had learned early on that, although that blank look was plastered almost permanently on the young driver's face, the boy wasn't as clueless as he seemed. However, even a famous racing prodigy needed a helping hand every now and then. So he promptly signaled Fumihiro with a shrill whistle.

Preoccupied by his efforts with the engine of Kenta's S14, Fumihiro went on working. He was currently hunkered over the orange car, tinkering with this and that, making sure everything was still in working condition. Oftentimes he found himself wondering why on earth Takahashi Keisuke had chosen the dark-complexioned driver to take under his wing. He understood Ryousuke's interest in Fujiwara—the younger man was an incredible driver; Fumihiro wouldn't have believed half the things he had been told about him if he hadn't already seen evidence of his skill already. And above all, he admired Fujiwara's ethics. The boy study hard and work hard. In contrast, Keisuke's own protégé he considered brash, inexperienced, unruly, and lazy. And the most unsettling about him was his devotion to Keisuke.

Fumihiro glance up through the gap under the hood at the young driver inside the car. He sometimes wondered if the boy's obsession with Keisuke was more than just a case of hero worship. Of course, it was none of _his_ business. But still, he wondered.

So absorb was he in his own thoughts and labor, he jump when he receive a tap on his left shoulder from a fellow teammate beside him.

"What!?" he shouted, a bit startled.

His tired eyes follow the pointing finger of his fellow teammate that was aimed in Keisuke's direction. The younger Takahashi was waving at him to come over, his whistles barely perceivable. Fumihiro speculated briefly on why the blond driver even bothered whistling over the roar of the engines when he's clearly seen wearing ear plugs. Letting out a tired sigh, he pulled the ear plugs out of his ears then directed his colleague to take over. He then signaled Kenta to wait on standby. The dark boy nodded noncommittally.

Fumihiro had barely come close within a hearing distance when Keisuke threw a rushed command ("Take over for me.") at him and bounded to Takumi's side. Having been with the Redsuns since the beginning, Fumihiro was used to the abrupt behaviors of both the Takahashi brothers. He didn't bother to ponder just why it was that _he_ had to take over for Keisuke, instead of someone else doing so. He settled himself into the bucket seat of the Trueno and positioned his foot over the accelerator. When Keisuke indicated to, he shifted out of neutral and into first gear, revved the engine up to about 9500 RPMs—just before he would be forced to shift to second—and held it steady.

Keisuke quickly studied the graph of data projected in overlapping contrast with the predicted graph. Biting his lip in consternation, he looked back and forth between the two, scrutinizing them at each point for any discrepancies in horsepower, torque, and overall engine power. A wide grin broke out on his face as the final result registered in his brain.

"You did it! Not bad for your first tune up! You're off by twenty percent, but the curves looks almost identical!" he whooped.

Upon hearing the excited exclamation from their second in command, the Project D crew—the Redsuns' original crew—gathered around the monitor as well.

"Nice!"

"Good work, Fujiwara!"

Keisuke threw an arm around Takumi, patting him appreciatively on the shoulder in his increase enthusiasm as the crew continued to shout their appraisals.

"Not bad for a beginner," they teased good-naturedly.

Nakamura Kenta, curiosity brimming to the full, managed to pull himself away from his car to join the gathering around the hachi-roku. He meandered his way around his fellow teammates to stand beside his idol. A frown quickly marred his brow.

_Stupid Fujiwara_ , he thought. _He always gets attention from Keisuke-san. I wish Keisuke-san would praise me like that._ His dark brown eyes glazed over with longing as he pictured himself under Keisuke's arm and being the recipient of all the praises around him. His dreamy sigh at the thought went unheard by the crowd.

Meanwhile Kenta wasn't the only onlooker, sitting on the side bench at the other side of the room with his laptop propped on the adjacent table, Ryousuke merely watched. His alert eyes ignored the computer screen before him, drawn instead to the gleeful expression on his younger brother's face across the room. His gaze traveled the length of the arm that was embracing the abashed hachi-roku driver, lingered on the spot where his brother's arm comfortably locked around the shoulder of the young driver; then it swept upwards to witness an abash, smiling Takumi in the spotlight. A mild frown appeared, his deep blue eyes burning with resentment.

"Hey, bro, come take a look at the data! It's right near the mark, just as you predicted!" Keisuke called to him over the surrounding crowd, completely unaware of Ryousuke's current temperament. Upon hearing that, everyone turned towards their leader to hear what he had to say.

With all attention on him, Ryousuke quickly ducked his head back to stare at his open laptop monitor.

Fujiwara Takumi's amused grey eyes fell upon his mentor. The young man was still unaccustomed to so much attention, despite being the victor in so many races. More often than not, the acclaim he received was overwhelming, even unwarranted in his opinion. Yet the young driver often found himself requiring only one person's opinion –besides his father's of course, in disregarding all others, and that one criticism he would believe completely. Eagerly, he waited for Ryousuke's appraisal, his heart beat rapidly under his breastbone, his breath slowing almost to cessation; that he'd done well was all he needed to hear. But he was stricken to hear the words that did come out of Ryousuke's mouth.

"I can hear perfectly well, Keisuke," the elder Takahashi rebuked his brother, irritation tingeing his reply. "There's no need to witness something so simple."

Brushing his dark hair off of his forehead, he resumed packing his laptop and papers, indicating his impending departure. He didn't raise his eyes as he spoke, missing the wounded look that crossed Takumi's face in response to his callous words.

The Project D crew offered Takumi an understanding smile before disbanding the gathering. Kenta grinned smugly at Takumi, baffling him, before he went back to working on his own engine.

Keisuke, on the other hand, squeezed Takumi's shoulder supportively. Takumi looked up at the apologetic smile he offered.

"Don't mind him. Ryousuke just doesn't like to be interrupted when he's working on a simulation," Takumi heard him say. However, he wasn't quite so ready to accept that as an excuse for his sensei's irritation.

But he pushed aside his feelings of frustration as the spiky-haired Takahashi released him and declared deliberately loud enough for his brother to over hear "besides he's just jealous that I'm a better teacher!"

The only indication whether the intended overheard or not was a slight pause from the older sibling's actions. Satisfied with his verbal jab, Keisuke encouraged his friend. "So Fujiwara, let's see what else you can do."

Takumi nodded and proceed to hunker down over the engine once again. However this time, Takumi found it difficult to force his lingering irritation to fully dissipate.

Staring blanking at the engine, his mind started to wander, and he found himself mulling over once again that fateful night he had decided to join Project D.

/Flashback, at the foothills of Mt. Akagi, A month and a half ago/

With the adrenaline of the last race behind him, the familiar feeling of unease plagued Takumi's normally oblivious calm, causing his body to react unusually. It was not unlike the sudden flush of heat he had felt that fateful afternoon when Takahashi Ryousuke requested to speak with him privately regarding Project D, while he was still working at the ESSO gas station. His curious eyes had locked with Ryousuke's intense ones as the Redsuns' leader handed the slip of paper to Takumi. Their fingers had brushed briefly, causing the younger man to redden unexpectedly.

At the sound of a car door slamming shut, Takumi blinked away the odd memory. He stood a foot from the driver-side door of the hachi-roku and looked fixedly at the intimidating figure before him. With their cars parked along the side of the road, they were less than ten feet apart. Takumi watched as the dark-hair man lean easily against the driver side door of the Mazda RX-7. His probing gaze was fixed on the hachi-roku driver.

_No, this is not like last time at all_ , Takumi groaned inwardly. With only just the two of them on this quiet night, the feeling was twice as worst.

"Well?" Ryousuke inquired without the preliminary greetings.

Their exchanges in person had been few in number; but after having been knowingly observed for more then half a year, Fujiwara Takumi felt sure that the elder Takahashi brother was fairly certain of his answer. However, ever the polite traditionalist, Ryousuke would of course want a verbal confirmation.

Clearing his throat, Takumi willed the butterflies in his stomach away and took several determined steps forward.

"I...I've decided to...join with you," he stammered tentatively.

Ryousuke's raised brow and the sudden amused sparkle in his ocean blue eyes puzzled Takumi. Understanding suddenly dawned on him. A loud gasp escaped Takumi's lips as he attempted to rectify his faux pas.

"Ah...ah, that is, I meant...to join your Project D," he corrected himself, visibly flushed.

A pregnant silence ensued. Confusion ran rampant through his system as he waited for his companion to speak. Takumi wasn't nearly as naive as everyone took him to be; he knew innuendo when he heard it, although he would never intentionally banter that way. Besides, his best friend, Itsuki, used it enough for the both of them.

He bit his lip, willing the solid pounding in his chest to stop. The situation was becoming most embarrassing considering who he just made a pass at. His heartbeat quicken as his eyes rounded slightly upon witnessing the unanticipated seductive curve of Ryousuke's firm lips.

Humor tinged the usually stoic baritone of the other's voice when the reply finally came: "I welcome you to join with me anytime."

A glint of humor shone within the depths of Ryousuke's ocean blue eyes, and Takumi found himself entranced, mesmerized by the intensity of those eyes, by the way they seemed to peer into his very soul. Suddenly aware of the dryness in his mouth—due to his unaware shallow breathing as well as his body's rising temperature—Takumi absently licked his parched lips. That penetrating gaze dropped to his mouth to follow the pink tongue's trail. The light mood evaporated, those beautiful blue eyes darkened in response to the seriousness of the situation. If possible, Takumi felt the frantic pace of his heart's beating increase even more. His cheeks burned.

The sound of an approaching car lifted the spell. Ryousuke immediately broke eye contact.

Takumi felt his throat constrict as he watched the other man glance around self-consciously.

"We meet every Friday around seven at Fumihiro's body shop," he heard the other announce rather hastily.

"It's listed. If you have trouble getting there, you have my number." That said, Ryousuke abruptly got into his white RX-7 and sped off, leaving a very perplexed Takumi to watch helplessly after him.

/Present/

Shaking himself, Takumi broke out of his reverie. He uttered a long, drawn-out sigh as he pushed his light brown hair off of his sweaty forehead and lean against the hood of the car. _Damn him,_ he thought crossly. _I wish I could know what he was thinking..._


	2. act1: 2s company,3s crowd and 4 is Kenta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary of the last act: A month and a half has passed since Takumi joined Project D. Everything seems to be doing well, the crew members accepted him readily. However, an underlying tension seems to be brewing between Ryousuke and Takumi. Keisuke and Takumi are forming a close friendship while Kenta feels threaten by Takumi.

/Redsuns' body shop - the following week Friday, early evening/

"Hey, Fujiwara!" shouted Keisuke.

"Huh?" questioned a dazed Takumi as he was pulled around to face a disgruntled Keisuke.

Pissed off, Keisuke's grip on Takumi's right shoulder tightens upon hearing that daze response. "Quit your daydreaming. I called for you...hell who knows how many times. What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," shrugged Takumi. Although his typical stoic expression didn't show it, the Hachi-roku driver is a bit annoyed by his friend's grip on his shoulder. It almost hurt. Confused by his friend's behavior and his own response, Takumi raised a hand to scratch the back of his head absently, and then asked, "Did you want something?"

Keisuke's lips stretched even tighter as he assessed his friend. _He's doing it again,_ the blond thought. Takumi have a tendency to either brush aside a topic or brew over it for long periods of time. He didn't like it. This made the younger driver very much harder to read and grab attention of. Still unaccustomed to his friend's tactics, Keisuke finally released his grip on Takumi's shoulder and loosen his lips to release a sniff. He mentally waved away his friend's nondescript demeanor and replied, "Yeah, how 'bout a test run later? You should test out your modifications on the mountain roads."

"Sure. Actually we can go, now. I was just cleaning up." Matter-of-factly, the Hachi-roku driver dropped the small crescent wrench he was holding back into the tool bin, turned toward his Trueno, and lowered the hood with a mighty slam.

Not trusting his brother's new protégé with his recent acquired skills especially after witnessing, according to any redeeming mechanic, the mistreatment of their precious tools, Keisuke raised a quizzical brow at Takumi mockingly, "Are you sure you're up to it? You seem to be pretty out of it lately. I don't know, daydreaming over the engine like that..."

Eyes shining with mirth, Keisuke smirk, shifted his eyes to the Hachi-roku and made reference to the car with a slight tilt of his head towards it. "You sure you know what you're doing?"

At that point, the younger Takahashi lean in closer, raise a fist and playfully rap gently on Takumi's smooth forehead several times then deadpanned, "Hey, are you daydreaming now?"

Not the least bit tempted to take the bait, Takumi rolled his eyes and swatted the offending hand away as he ignored Keisuke's sarcastic humor, and replied, "I just have to wash my hands first, then we can go."

Takumi side step away from Keisuke and walk towards the front of the garage where the employee dressing room and business office are located. He then peeled the oily mechanic jumpsuit off his habitual attire of a white t-shirt and torn up faded blue jeans. After hanging the suit on the nearby rack, Takumi walk over to the sink located a few feet beside an adjacent table and began to wash away the grime on his hands. When he absently reached for a towel and grabbed only air, Takumi frowned at the empty towel bin and began his search for a clean rag near the sink.

A red blur flew towards him from his peripheral vision; Takumi caught it on reflex. The Hachi-roku driver raised a grateful face to the direction of the trajectory as he absently wiped his hands clean. Takumi discovered it was none other then Takahashi Ryousuke who had thrown the much needed towel. His mentor was standing by his laptop on the table nearby. The young driver immediately offers a quick thank you.

Then suddenly out of nowhere.

"Would you mind if I… tag along?" ask Ryousuke hesitantly, albeit entirely unlike his usual direct, commanding, and assured self. Despite being a tad uncomfortable of the awkward moments between them at times, especially lately, Ryousuke hardly showed it as he stated matter-of-factly after he cleared his throat as a cover-up for his awkward start.

"I have several calculations for the new simulation I'm running on the Hachi-roku. The new modifications need to be taken into account. Also, some field results from the Road Dyno should give us a better indication of the Hachi-roku's performance capabilities at other simulated location models."

"Ah," answered a rather perplexed Takumi in response to Ryousuke's lengthy lecture.

Listening to their awkward exchange all the while, Keisuke smiled at the odd picture the two presented. One who talks too much (he would never said that to his brother's face) and the other who barely talks. One who's driven, precise and relentless, while the other is dazed most of the time and dangerously focused at other times. They couldn't be any more different, yet the two are part of a rare few (himself included of course) who could tear down any mountain pass with deadly precision.

The blond driver was sitting lazily on the bonnet of the Hachi-roku before he got up on his feet, excited by the prospect of his brother joining them.

"I call shotgun," stated Keisuke.

Takumi and Ryousuke was enduring a most awkward pause in their exchange (one wouldn't call it a conversation really) and so both readily welcome the interruption upon hearing Keisuke's declaration. Both simultaneously turn to raise grateful eyes at a grinning Keisuke who then stood up nonchalantly with his thumbs hooking on the waist of his favorite green cargo pants.

Keisuke grin from ear to ear, noting their reactions with glee. He was right. The two really didn't know how to talk to one another. Perhaps that was the reason why his brother left his new protégé in his care, with occasional guidance from Ryousuke. Keisuke could have laughed at that. It wasn't a hard task at all. In fact, Takumi absorbs information like a sponge. _Scary how he does that,_ he thought.

Wanting the awkward exchange between his brother and his friend (his source of entertainment these days) to prolong further, Keisuke quickly thought of a plan to goad his brother. So he quickly added in a way to explain his reasons for calling shot gun, "Gas price has gone up lately, you know. One of us has to drive up with him, I rather that person be you, _aniki_."

Keisuke then dropped his hands and raised it to cross his arms over his chest and lifted his chin arrogantly a fraction in the air, "Besides, I can operate the driver cam and maybe give him a few pointers."

Ryousuke rolled his eyes at his brother's gas price excuse to goad him. He had wanted to talk to Takumi by himself and driving up with the boy would have been a perfect opportunity. Not giving up yet, Ryousuke decided to take the bait.

"Like you need to worry about gas prices, Keisuke. Unfortunately for you, the new Road Dyno is equipped with a transmitter that sends data directly to my laptop. I'm afraid you'll have to play wing man tonight."

"Hell, I can run the thing too," snorted Keisuke in delight. His brother took the bait. _Now to reel him in,_ he thought.

"I'm afraid not, Keisuke. The last time I left my _thing_ with you, it had tire marks on it. Suffice it to say, I do not want the same _accident_ you profess to have happen to occur again."

 _Ouch_ , _that comment have bite,_ he thought. His brother should have been a lawyer. He would have made a mince meat of the opponent and win over the jury with his calm demeanor and good looks (it runs in the family). His brother didn't really left him much room to maneuver the situation. _Come on! Think!_

"Keisuke-sempai, allow me to go with you!"

Nakamura Kenta defiantly stood his ground. Having been one vehicle away, Kenta had kept a constant ear alert to all of Takahashi Keisuke's conversation with the tofu boy. Realizing that the trio was leaving together, Kenta had literally thrown all his equipment to the wind, unsuited, and washed up in record time. _There is no way I'm letting tofu boy hog all the attention,_ thought Kenta.

When Kenta spoke up, Keisuke let out a mental shout of: _Yes, victory!_ He quickly turned to his brother to see his response to that one when the blond said, "Fine by me. But that makes you the wing man."

Despite his reluctance in letting Keisuke win that round, Ryousuke promptly added. "Nakamura, you'll have to mount Cam Angle 3 on your dash. Cam Angle 2 is broken. We'll meet you guys up top."

Kenta was overjoyed when the blond's permission was given, then dismayed that he had to help tofu boy, and then overjoyed again in thinking Keisuke would join him. He quickly ran to the office and grabs the two camcorders for mounting. He double checked the mark camcorders to be number 1 and 3, then went back to his mentor.

Keisuke takes the offered camcorder and remarks absently, "Thanks Kenta, I'll see you up top."

Confused, Kenta asked, "Keisuke-sempai, you're not coming with me?"

Keisuke smirk to himself and said cryptically, "That'll ruin all my fun. Well, see ya."

The blond then headed towards the Hachi-roku leaving Kenta frowning in confusion at the odd remark. _Damn it_ , he thought as he sluggishly setup the recording system in his car.

Ryousuke had the same words on his mind when he saw the infectious grin on Keisuke's face. He knew what that meant immediately. His brother was determined to go with them and nothing that Ryousuke can say or do will change that. He shook his head in disapproval at his younger brother and decided to just go with it. With his laptop in hand, Ryousuke headed for the passenger seat.

"No fair, aniki! I called first on shotgun," whine Keisuke playfully.

Ryousuke couldn't help but to roll his eyes at that one. Now, his brother sounds like a petulant child, which is a strong indication that Keisuke is enjoying his victory a little bit too much.

"I can't observe from the back," stated Ryousuke, pointedly ignoring his brother's doubtful snort.

Keisuke held the victory grin he still wore and turned to look at his friend who was still standing there, dazed. The blond's grin turned into a huge smile. "Come on Takumi! What are standing there for? Let's go!"

During this exchange from the trio, Takumi had been quietly listening. His head shifted from one speaker to another until his mind wandered again. He instantly snapped out of it upon Keisuke's remark. Seeing the knowing look from his friend who seems to be saying, _daydreaming again?_ Takumi's cheeks tinted pink in chagrin and cast his eyes down. Without saying anything else, the young driver quickly walked towards the Hachi-roku, buckled up in the driver seat, and turned the ignition key.

Ryousuke gave the signal to go. Takumi drove out of the shop and sped off towards Mt. Akagi. Kenta quickly finished the setup and drove off in his S14.

/Mt. Akagi/

"Why Keisuke-sempai?" muttered Kenta under his breath yet again. He was still pondering the bond he'd seen forming between his sempai and tofu boy. He felt lonely again. He was never really popular to form many friends. In fact there are only a handful of people he would consider to be close friends with, Keisuke was one of them. Ever since Keisuke had stood up for him against those bullies in Form 1, Kenta had been forever grateful. The blond had look out for him since then and even took Kenta under his wings to join his brother's racing team. It opened up a whole new interest for him and Kenta even learned to relax his guard around people. The team members were very helpful and professional.

Now, as a lone driver speeding up to the meeting point at Mt. Akagi, Kenta had never felt so alone. Apparently he lost sight of the Hachi-roku several kilometers ago. _If only I hadn't been stopped by so many damn stop lights. This driving alone and feeling lonely would never happen if it weren't for that tofu boy,_ his thoughts continued. Vengefully, Kenta seriously debated the ramifications of sabotaging the recording, either by turning off the night vision feature or turning off the camcorder altogether. It could be done very easily.

As he continue to ponder about this, several kilometers behind him, several headlights loomed over the road and hover the expanse from side to side, seemingly towards the same destination.


	3. act2: Enter the Aoi Ryu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary of the last act: Ryousuke made plans to talk to Takumi but was spoiled by the machinations of his own brother, Keisuke and with a little help from Kenta. A typical night run for the Hachi-roku might be rescheduled due to some unexpected visitors.

/Mt. Akagi, same night/

Kenta had arrived at a decision; he reached for the remote to the camcorder and press the Power On button while maintaining his eyes on the road. Just when he was jogging his memory on how to preset the device, a shot sounding very much like a backfire kit kick-starting startled him from behind. The remote dropped face-down on his lap and a dull beep was eclipsed by Kenta's sharp exclamation, "What the fu—!?"

A black blur shot pass his right, missing his orange S14 by a foot. Before Kenta could react to that close call, several flashes of head lights from his rare view mirror caught his attention. The vehicle directly behind him, sped up and switch position to the inside lane just before the opening of a right side curve. In his panic, Kenta, hoping to avoid a sidelong collision with the grayish vehicle, rotated his steering wheel to the left a little too quickly. The orange S14 swerved to the left with a force. Realizing too late that he over steered as his front lights reflected off the guardrail, Kenta steered the wheel to the right and pulled his hand break with all his might. Rubber tires burnt on gravel as sparks flared when the tail of the S14 kissed the guardrail just as the car jolted to a stop. Before Kenta was able to make a Hail Mary from that hair rising save, several more vehicles sped pass him at a much slower pace.

The last of the vehicles pause beside the S14. The passenger car window roll down and a slender man with flyaway hair poked his head out the window and shouted, "Learn how to drive, dumb ass!"

The driver beside him snickered at the insult and sped off to follow the entourage.

Kenta's cold numbness from the experience boiled into hot anger as the slender man's words sank in. With a growl of determination, Kenta literally put peddle to the metal and drove for all he was worth.

/Inside Takumi's car/

Despite Keisuke's best intention in setting the three of them up to go together for his own amusement, the disquieting lack of conversation so far was irritating him tremendously. He scooted forward to look over the driver's shoulder; Takumi's eyes were fixed on the road with his cheeks slightly flushed. Keisuke briefly wondered about that and turn his attention to the left to see what his brother was doing. With his laptop propped open, the screen showed a model simulation of Mt. Akagi's route. Ryousuke's eyes remain glued to the screen with his fingers stroking some keys on occasion. Apparently, his entertainment had both decided to occupy themselves with their respective tasks. Annoyed by the current situation, the blond took it upon himself to break the silence. "Hey Ryousuke, I heard the Futuristic Car Expo is hosting at Tokyo Bay next month. Do you want to go check it out with me?"

Without turning to address his brother, Ryousuke responded with his own question, "Which week?"

Keisuke scratched the back of his head absently, "Oh, um. I think it's the second week. I can check later. So, what do say?"

This time, Ryousuke's response was a bit mumbled as his brow knitted together. His focus was directed over a portion of the simulated road. "I believe I have some prior engagements that week. Otherwise, I am free."

"Cool," said the blond. He then turns to ask Takumi. "Fujiwara, how about you? Want to join us?"

"Um, sure." Takumi hesitantly replied, then added as an afterthought, "But I, ah… have to check with my dad and boss first."

Keisuke nodded in understanding. Takumi doesn't have his own car and plus he works odd hours for a delivery service company. Sometimes he even gets a call during his rare off days to take over a shift. Keisuke learn that annoying fact when twenty minutes into a film that he was dying to see and had drag Takumi along, the boy's pager buzzed. So his friend had apologized before he took off and the movie wasn't as enjoyable after that.

Waking up from his introspective thoughts, Keisuke soon realize that things were back as they were. Silence again. The disgruntled blond resign himself to the situation, lean forward and perched his chin on the bucket seat, barely touching Takumi's shoulder. The blond sigh and decided to join the two in quiet solitude.

Takumi froze; his flush darken, and immediately shift his body to the left.

Unaware of the young driver's discomfort Keisuke remain there for the rest of the trip.

/Top of Mt. Akagi, minutes later/

"We're here," announced the Hachi-roku driver who was reluctant to be noticed at the moment by the two dominating presence of the Takahashi brothers.

 _Too close for comfort,_ thought Takumi. Throughout the long drive when Keisuke started hanging over his shoulder, talking and breathing down his neck, Takumi's goose bumps were on alert ever since. Then, when Ryousuke suddenly lean over his left arm to check his gauge and meter readings, a shiver ran up Takumi's spine at the light contact and he immediately shifted away. _Distance has to be put between them and fast,_ he thought.

 _I don't know which is worse: breathing in the clean scent of Takahashi-san's warm body or Keisuke-sempai's cloying breath,_ thought Takumi with a shiver. He quickly got out of his Hachi-roku, put his keys in his left pocket, and hastens his step to rest atop the nearest guardrail. He was thankful that the Takahashi brothers hadn't commented on his flushed cheeks throughout the long drive. Takumi would have been mortified in trying to explain that. He wasn't even sure whether he could explain it to himself.

During the first two weeks when he first joined Project D, it was the older Takahashi who had made sure the crew members accepted him. It was Ryousuke who lectured him on tuning methods and take him on test runs at Mt. Akagi. It was Ryousuke who would show him what to do, work along side him and correct his mistakes. Ryousuke was always patient, supported him, and praised him when he made even the smallest progress. Takumi is baffle still by the older Takahashi's decision. The Hachi-roku driver constantly mull over the first two weeks to find some clarity as for the reason why. Sure there were certain times when he would clumsily bump into and spill onto Ryousuke or stare at the older man much longer than what is deem polite or doze off while the man lectures. But Takumi had apologized profusely each time. Somehow after those two weeks, Ryousuke became more distant and wouldn't help him quite as often. Instead, Ryousuke had silently passed the responsibility of mentoring Takumi to Keisuke.

Takumi knew at first, Keisuke was reluctant to work with him. The Hachi-roku driver sense it was due to the fact that the younger Takahashi had lost to him twice. As time pass within each other's company though, somehow they became fast friends. Their shared goals in the racing world and their enjoyment of the race itself were the catalyst for their friendship. When Keisuke opened up, he was playful, straightforward, a tad eccentric, and quick tempered. Takumi was comfortable being in Keisuke's company. He is tremendously grateful for Keisuke's help and companionship.

"Hey, Fujiwara!" Keisuke's unexpected appearance and close proximity shout broke into Takumi's musings instantly. In reaction, he threw his hands up in fright and subsequently began falling backwards from the guardrail. Strong hands caught his forearms before Takumi ended up landing on his back.

"Sorry." Keisuke flashed an apologetic grin and help right Takumi on his perch atop the guardrail. The blond then raise a hand to ruffle Takumi's hair when he question with a tinge of amusement, "Daydreaming again?"

His only response was a blush from the Hachi-roku driver.

"If you don't stop daydreaming like that, it could get very dangerous. You might be driving and then...BOOM!" He smacked his hands together for emphasis and continued, "Slam right into a tree or something."

Raking a hand through his hair trying to fix it, Takumi remarked in his usual blank way, "Ah."

Keisuke chuckled in amusement, "Is that all you have to say?"

Takumi stopped his preoccupation with his hair and raised his eyes to meet amused green ones, "I was thinking, not daydreaming. Besides, I don't daydream while driving, I just drive."

"Well, hell. What do you call that just now? If I hadn't caught you, you could have…" Keisuke's teasing comment trailed off when he noticed a pair of headlights shining upon them and headed straight for his brother. Fear for his brother left him immobilized as he shouted, "Aniki!"

Meanwhile, Ryousuke, with his hands tucked inside his slack pockets and a bored expression plaster on his face, calmly stood his ground by the side of the road. With an ear-piercing screech just less than a meter away from the Redsuns' leader, the charging vehicle jolted to a stop.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Takumi jumped off the guardrail and stood beside Keisuke in stun silence as the black Mazda MX5 driver door prop open.

A pair of shapely legs clad in black sneakers following upward to a curvaceous body dressed in a black mini tube dress with a risqué side split stood before them. Her chest length hair with red streaks scattered randomly as it blew in the wind. The driver was a young woman, in her early twenties. She had an air of sophistication and authority about her despite her petite figure and dainty appearance. However, the driver was anything but, judging from her aggressive driving and subsequent actions.

She took a long appraising look at Ryousuke, grin, and scan him admiringly from head to toe and back again. She then glance towards Keisuke and Takumi and did the same. Her gaze flew back to Ryousuke with an amuse sparkle in her eyes.

A minute later, another Mazda MX5 in silver with gold pinstripes intricately painted in tribal patterns, stop along side the black one. The driver side door propped open and out stepped a hansom young man in his early twenties too. His facial features were similar to the woman driver except more angular and his windblown hair flowed unkempt almost to his shoulders. He was dressed in khaki pants and a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His gaze swept over the three silent figures before him in the same shocking appraising way the woman had shown previously. His licentious gaze remain on Takumi however, a smirk slowly form on his lips.

"You're right sis, they ARE cute," remark the new arrival with smile.

His sister pointedly ignores him. She took several steps toward Ryousuke and bow formally. "I am Sagano Jade, the leader of the Aoi Ryu. My brother, Sagano Rui and I would be honored if a match can be arranged with the famous Takahashi Rotary brothers."


	4. act3: Winner takes all!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary of the last act: After surviving a near death experience, Kenta boiling with anger gives chase to the newcomers. Meanwhile Keisuke continues to have his fun ribbing his friend, Takumi as they wait for Kenta. Instead, two unknown drivers show up to request a match against the brothers.

/Top of Mt. Akagi, same night/

Moments after her announcement, three more cars pull up alongside the Mazda MX5s, essentially boxing the trio against the guardrail with the Hachi-roku behind them. The newcomers got out of their vehicles and Takumi took a mental count of their numbers. Including the previous two, it seems the Aoi Ryu outnumbered them, four to one.

The Hachi-roku driver didn't know why, but the atmosphere generated from them was far more intimidating then any previous encounters within the normal crowd of Gunma. Perhaps it was the way the Aoi Ryu surrounded them or perhaps it was the way all their members were looking at them as if they were life stock on an auction. But whatever the reason, Takumi especially didn't like how his heartbeat had double upon meeting the challenging gaze of that man— _Sagano Rui was it?_ — standing opposite from him in particular. Fortunately, Takumi didn't have to endure that look for long when the sound of another car approaching took all their attention.

The driving sounded very aggressive, in fact almost angry-like.

Moments later, one familiar orange S14 pulled up next to the Hachi-roku with a jolting stop. Kenta threw his driver side door open and flew out of his car with his engine still running. The dark boy took only a few seconds to locate his intended target.

His furious strides launch him towards the pair of MX5 drivers and he threw a right hook at that Sagano fellow upon an arm's length away. Amazingly enough, the target feign his body to the right at the last minute, successfully dodging the punch and counter with his own tighten fist in return. Kenta, who was thrown off-balance by the momentum of his miss, is now left wide open for an on-coming blow.

Surprisingly, the blow never connected.

Confused, Kenta recovered his footing and straighten up. His previous, furious eyes now shine with unbridled adoration upon witnessing his idol coming to his rescue. Kenta didn't know how Keisuke had move so fast to block the blow, but as always, he was most grateful for it.

"What's going on here!?" bellowed Keisuke to no one in particular as he release Sagano Rui's wrist.

"Why don't you ask this raging bull here," answered Rui snidely as he glared at the blond.

Rubbing his wrist absently, the MX5 driver took another reassessing look at the younger Takahashi, sizing him up more closely. Sure, they had similar height and build, but Takahashi Keisuke was definitely leaner and more muscular in comparison. And judging from the younger Takahashi's quick reflexes, Sagano Rui decided to keep a guarded eye on the fellow.

"Bastard!" shouted Kenta at the newcomer. With his anger quickly recovered, Kenta sprung again for another attack but was restrain by Keisuke who looped an arm around his waist. After snapping out of gawking at Kenta making a spectacle of himself, Takumi decided to help and leapt in front of the dark boy to block his path. Thus every time, Kenta attempt a lunge to by-pass Takumi, the Hachi-roku driver would push him back while Keisuke held him in place.

The Aoi Ryu looked on with degrees of amusement as they sniggered at the futile display of the dark boy being restrained by his own teammates.

"KENTA!" barked Keisuke as his temper was beginning to flare. "Cool it will ya!?"

Unfortunately, the sniggering Aoi Ryu members only added fuel to Kenta's fury. But, since Keisuke asked him to, the dark boy struggled with his anger and stopped his attempts for immediate retribution. Kenta spat out as he settled for glaring at his target instead, "The bastard here almost ram me over the ravine! My car is all scraped up, no thanks to him!"

Sagano Rui wanted to laugh at the dark boy's pitiful excuse for a brawl and he almost did, but decided against it, especially not with the younger Takahashi glaring daggers at him. Thus the MX5 driver settled for a verbal assault.

"I did no so thing. It was all you. You panicked. You over steered. You almost killed yourself and my teammates. So count your blessings for coming out of that with a small scrape. Stop your complaining already," sneer Rui.

Kenta growled in response.

Tired of the present argument and finding the dark boy much too hot-headed, not to mention, idiotic for his jaded taste, Rui ignored him and refocus his attentions back towards his previous amusement upon discovering the perfect introduction. The MX5 driver licked his lips in anticipation and moved in to satisfy his urge since the first moment he came upon the trio.

"I thought you Redsuns have more than enough balls with your reputation," mock Rui rather coarsely.

He leered admirably before he pounced on his prey, "Or is that reputation gained from all those groupies who get to sample a taste of your bodies?"

"Hey!?" exclaimed Takumi when he felt a pinch on his behind. The Hachi-roku driver quickly turns to face the culprit. His shocked expression earned a few guffaws from the Aoi Ryu members. They were enjoying the show their second in command was putting on while their team leader merely grinned with indulgent humor.

Keisuke release his hold on Kenta and eyed Sagano Rui suspiciously as he wondered what the man was up to.

Kenta, with his anger still lingering, kept his scowl in tact as he looked on with growing curiosity at the turn of events.

Meanwhile, Ryousuke's previous bored expression had darkened immensely from this new transgression.

Upon turning about face, Takumi felt caught like a deer appearing before an oncoming pair of headlights. He found that Sagano Rui was standing but a few inches away from him. The other's warm breath danced across his cheeks as Takumi stared up wide-eye at the taller man.

Without taking his eyes off the Hachi-roku driver, Rui continued his taunt for all to hear, "Or is that just all rumors to excite the people who race you?"

The same hand that had pinched Takumi's rear earlier suddenly took a firm hold of the Hachi-roku driver's right butt cheek and squeezed. Takumi release a high pitch yelp in response.

He was immediately pulled toward the taller man with his arms trapped between them, fitting pelvis to muscular thighs. Sagano Rui peered down between their bodies and mocked luridly, "I guess there are some truths in it after all."

The Aoi Ryu laughed uproariously at the now blushing and mortified Takumi.

The unfamiliar suffusion of heat mixed with shock, embarrassment, and mortification at such provocation caused his brain to go into overload and arrested any reaction in response. Sagano Rui took the opportunity and lean forward, intending to steal a kiss from the immobilized Takumi.

"RUI! That's enough," interjected Jade when she noticed the deadly glare from Takahashi Ryousuke and the taut fists from the younger Takahashi. Her younger brother groaned at her unreasonable order and reluctantly released his prey. Then as if nothing had happened, Rui sauntered back to stand quietly by his sister's side.

Meanwhile, utterly mortified, confused and yet relieved, Takumi quickly return to stand behind Keisuke, as he tried to hide his redden flush.

Knowing that her brother had gone too far, Sagano Jade attempted to rectify his actions.

"Please excuse him. I apologize for my brother, he's harmless. He's a jester and offends people easily with his amusement. As I've mentioned before, we came here for a match. I understand the Redsuns always enjoy a challenge. I can guarantee you that we are."

Jade paused to assess Ryousuke's reaction to her entreaty. His feature had already return back to the bored expression prior to her brother's actions.

However, having unable to gauge his thoughts, she decided to continue with her speech, "I'm sure you are quite familiar with the cities street racing rules. The conditions are simple, we choose the location and in return, you decide on the type of match. The winner names a forfeit."

Jade paused yet again waiting patiently for a reply from Ryousuke who remained eerily quiet throughout her entire speech.

As everyone waited for his response, the man at the center of attention raised a mocking brow, sneered, and then turned away from her. As if he had all the time in the world, he dug into his slack pockets, pulled a lighter out while he retrieves a stick of cigarette from his breast pocket. Placing the stick between his lips to hold it in place, Ryousuke tilted his head to the right and lit the tip with the lighter. He remained there smoking lazily while he returned the lighter to his pocket.

Jade's polite demeanor cracked as a tick formed below her left eye.

Takahashi Ryousuke had made his disinterest quite clear. Keisuke smiled at his brother's demonstration and pounded the fact verbally. "If you're looking for a cheap thrill, I suggest you look elsewhere. Take your ass off our turf. We Redsuns aren't into street racing for that."

"How DARE you talk to my sis like that!?" yelled Sagano Rui.

Feathers ruffled at the younger Takahashi's disrespect for his sister, Rui took a step towards Keisuke, intending to pound the other's face in, but was stopped abruptly by Jade's outstretched arm barring his way.

"I said that's enough, RUI!"

Her voice hardened to steel and contempt filled the following, "I can see that the Redsuns are not what rumors has it. Why else would the Takahashi brother's carpool in a beat up and out-of-date Hachi-roku? Rui, I can see we've wasted our time." Jade then turned around, intending to walk back to her car with her brother following close behind.

But just before she reached her driver side door, she heard those words that made everyone stopped in surprise.

"I accept the challenge."

Keisuke turned his head promptly to the culprit of said remark.

"Kenta, you crazy!?" yelled the younger Takahashi.

Takumi's jaw dropped while Ryousuke swiftly turned around to flash a deadly glare at the dark boy's direction.

Fortunately for Kenta, he did not see the pointed glare that normally would quell him on the spot. With heated bravado, the S14 driver issued his request, "When I win, I want payment for the damages and a public apology from him."

He pointed a stabbing finger at Rui who sneer at Kenta's remark with ill-disguise tolerance. Kenta ignored him and continued his decree as he spoke to Jade. "This has nothing to do with the Redsuns; it is between me and the freak only."

"Who are you calling a freak, boy? You're the one with the orange car," retorted Rui.

"Shut up!" Kenta threw a shout at Rui and readdressed Jade evenly, "Is it a deal?"

Rui responded instead, "Deal. But you'll be racing me."

He then winked at Takumi who blinked at the gesture and spoke again to Kenta, "As for your forfeit, I'll name it at the time of the race. We'll deal with the details later."

"Let's go boys," With those departing words from the Aoi Ryu's leader, the new arrivals left as unexpectedly as they came.

"Idiot!" yelled Keisuke as he whacked Kenta on the backside of the head.

"Oww!" yelped Kenta as he rubbed his bruised head with his left hand.

"I've just finished telling them to buzz off and here you go accepting their challenge. What the fuck was that, huh!?" Keisuke raised a hand and whack the back of Kenta's head once again.

"Ow—!" Kenta let out another yelp of pain and hurriedly tried to placate his idol before his head received another blow.

"Keisuke-sempai, I just thought to get even with that guy and his whole team since none of you would do it. I mean...they just made fun of the Redsuns, me, and even tofu...er Fujiwara here."

Gauging that his words were having some effect, Kenta decided to solicit help from an unlikely source. Never would Kenta have imagined asking Takumi to back him up on anything. "Fujiwara, were you gonna just let that guy do that and get away with it?"

Takumi, numb from his initial reactions to Rui publicly fondling him, wasn't exactly sure how to respond to Kenta's plea for his cause. He was still too mortified by the exchange. His typical blank facade had been replaced by the myriads of emotions all in one setting. Even now confusion marred his smooth brow as he responded, albeit meekly, "No..."

"There, Fujiwara agrees with me too," Thankful for once that the tofu boy did something he appreciated. Keisuke although somewhat placated, scoffed at the entire explanation nonetheless.

"Nakamura."

All three of them turned towards the Redsuns leader who finally spoke his first word since the whole Aoi Ryu ordeal. "Do you know what the cities street racing rules are?"

Kenta counted the items with his fingers in his reply. "Whatever they just said right? Place, type, and forfeit."

Ryousuke flicked his cigarette away and reprimanded with a sneer, "The forfeit generally means, Nakamura, the loser hands over the ownership of their car. Since you name two, they'll name two forfeit as well."

"Lose… ownership… my car…" repeated Kenta absently as he swallowed the sudden lump in his throat while Ryousuke's words sank in. Panic rose to the fore, Kenta quickly covered it with extra bravado. "Don't worry I get to name the type right? Well, no problem there. Rain matches are my specialty."

"Wait a minute," Fujiwara Takumi, who has been numbly following along, was finally able to find his tongue and inquired, "You said two. So what is the other thing?"

Ryousuke stared unwaveringly at him.

Confused by the look the older man shot him, Takumi inquired albeit cluelessly, "What?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I realized (after a bit of research) that the vehicles I chose for the newcomers are 2006 models, which puts the timeline out of order or way into the future as the case may be. I profess I do not know much about cars, nor engine tuning, nor driving techniques. But despite this technical difficulty, if you may, please just ignore this little tidbit of fact and or any future discrepancies and enjoy the story. Thank you.


	5. act4: Why me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary of the last act: Kenta is late to arrive and shows instant hatred towards one of the Aoi Ryu members. One of the newcomers, Sagano Rui, singles out Takumi for ridicule and earns further dislike towards the new group from the Takahashi brothers. In turn, a friendly request for a match now changes to a quest for vengeance as winner takes all.

/Top of Mt. Akagi, same night/

Takumi met the unnerving stare with unease and wondered, _why is he looking at me like that?_

Unable to read the meaning behind that look at all though, the Hachi-roku driver quickly glanced over to his friend to get some ideas.

Keisuke's brows furrowed at their exchange. He looked at his friend, then at his brother, and a sliver of comprehension hit him. Not liking the verdict, he joined his brother and directed his own scowl at Takumi.

On the other corner of the gathering quartet, Kenta found the change of attention quite refreshing as he also turned his own peeked interest towards the now perplexed Akina Hachi-roku driver. If his guess was correct, Kenta wanted to relish in the other's discomfort as much as possible.

Fidgeting under the trio's scrutiny, Takumi's clueless face began to show signs of irritation that was too late in coming as his mind churned over the previous events. Then it suddenly dawn on him and he became livid with the idea.

"He can't have my car," spouted Takumi forcefully.

The trio immediately face faulted. It took a few moments before they recovered their cool, collected demeanor. In the mean time, the Hachi-roku driver felt embarrass by his outburst. Obviously he had come to the wrong conclusion.

"Try again," Kenta remarked with a smirk.

"No? Then uh… I ah— I refuse to race with him," mumbled Takumi upon hoping that he was right this time.

"Fujiwara," interjected Keisuke with a sigh.

"Yes?"

"It's not your car or another race." Keisuke supplied in annoyance before he flashed his friend, a do-you-get-it-now type of look.

Unfortunately, Takumi did not comprehend at all (judging by the blank look on his face) and so he simply replied with, "Eh?"

"Humph—" Kenta quickly placed both hands to cover his mouth as he tried to stifle the laughter that was bursting to come forth. Unable to contain it any further though, the dark boy turned away from the others and his shoulders started to shake as sounds of muffled laughter was heard.

A tick formed above one of his brows while Keisuke tried to count to ten before he enlighten his friend. Unfortunately, Kenta's outburst didn't help and cause him to shout out his reply instead, "Oh, for crying out loud! It's YOU!"

"Me?" Takumi repeated dumbly as if reciting a foreign word. "Me?"

As that word rolled around in his mind, Takumi's face suddenly lights up with divine enlightenment and gasped, "No...you mean?"

Frantic with that thought, the Hachi-roku driver immediately scan the trio for confirmation. Keisuke nodded in reply as well as Kenta, after recovering from his fit of laughter of course. However, Takumi only received a thoughtful look from the older Takahashi brother. This confused the Hachi-roku driver even further and added to his growing frustration.

"But I'm not into that—" stuttered the round-eyed Takumi when he realized the levity of their meaning.

"He probably is," chirped in Kenta.

"No way—" Takumi blanched upon even the thought of it.

"It's possible—" interject the dark boy happily.

"Hold on a minute here!" Highly uncomfortable with the foreign topic entirely, Takumi abruptly poured out his frustration hysterically. "That's absurd! What does the forfeit have to do with me? Why would you think I'd agree to any of this? Besides, it wasn't me who made the bet! So why does it have to do with me at—"

Keisuke cut in Takumi's mid rant and responded plainly, "You left yourself wide-open, Fujiwara."

"—what?" Takumi stared dumbly at his friend.

Releasing another sigh of exasperation, Keisuke clarified further. "That man obviously seems to have an interest in you. Whether he's joking or not, I wouldn't put it pass him to provoke you further. So, don't leave yourself open to his advances in the future."

Then as an after thought, Keisuke added pointedly with a nod, "Don't encourage him either."

"But I didn't," muttered Takumi as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"It doesn't matter," Keisuke responded softly. "Just be careful next time."

Seeing the still frustrated glow from Takumi's eyes, the younger Takahashi brother tried to lighten the mood. Thus he quipped, "Anyways, I don't think you'll make a good forfeit anyways. You are pretty good fodder for his jokes, but it'll probably get tiring after awhile. So besides your driving skills, what else are you good for?"

The blond driver was rewarded with a warning scowl from his friend. Knowing that his ploy worked, Keisuke continued with a grin, "But have no fear. Even if you are that guy's target, Kenta is here to come to your rescue. He'll be your knight in shining armor riding his stead of steel and whisk, you, the damsel in distress away from the clutches of the evil Sagano bastard."

Both Takumi and Kenta flash Keisuke an indignant glare upon his references. Even Takahashi Ryousuke rolled his eyes at his brother's verbal theatrics.

Knowing that he had the effect he wanted, the blond smiled broadly then continued, "Although, now that I've thought about it. I think you might have a better chance of saving your own virtue by replacing Kenta in the race."

"Keisuke-sempai!" whined the dark boy at his idol's insinuation.

But before Kenta was able to voice his complaint further, he was interrupted by the older Takahashi.

"Keisuke."

The atmosphere immediately turned serious as all eyes once again revered back towards the Redsuns' leader for his take upon the matter. His response was slow in forming though, as the older man took out another cigarette and lit it. After a few puffs of smoke later, he began, "Go back to the shop with Nakamura. Be sure to gather the whole crew and informed them of what has happen. Despite what Nakamura had insisted with the Aoi Ryu, this IS a Redsuns' matter whether we like it or not. Our Project D plans will have to be postponed for now."

The dark boy lowered his head in contrition upon hearing the Redsuns' leader's words. He wanted to apologize then and there, but was too guilt ridden to even move his lips.

Noticing that his words had the expected effect, Ryousuke paused briefly to take another puff of smoke and then turned his gaze to make eye contact with Takumi before he continued, "Fujiwara may I have a word with you before we go?"

After a brief hesitation, Takumi nodded in affirmation.

Keisuke glanced over at his friend in concern then at his brother's resolute gaze on Takumi and felt a pang of apprehension. Unsure of where the feeling was coming from, the blond shook it off and walked over to the self-absorbed dark boy. He grabbed a hold of Kenta's stripe polo shirt from the neck and dragged him towards the still running S14. The blond grinned evilly at his little buddy's squirming and quipped for good measure, "Get in before your car runs out of gas already."

Just realizing that his engine was still running, Kenta jerked out of Keisuke's hold, quickly turned about face, and ran toward his orange S14. When Kenta was about to close the driver side door and drove off however, Ryousuke's following condescending words made him sat at full attention in his seat. "And Nakamura, don't think you're off the hook. Wait for me at the shop. If you can't follow that simple order, don't bother to show your face around here again."

Kenta, stunned by Ryousuke's words just swallowed loudly and gave a nod as answer, having found it hard to speak over the lump of panic in his throat. He looked helplessly at his idol, but was given only a weak yet assuring, lopsided grin for comfort. The orange S14 drove off at a much slower pace then it arrived in as the driver was not looking forward to their leader's retribution at all.

Long after the S14 taillights disappeared around the first curve, Ryousuke remained silent as he organized his thoughts. He moved a few steps toward the guardrail and leaned his back against it with his right knee slightly bent. Taking a quick glance towards the younger man, Ryousuke flicked his current cigarette stub away and dug into his breast pocket to take out another one and lit it. Leaning heavily on the rail, he kept one hand holding the cigarette, while the other rested on top of the rail, fidgeting absently with the lighter. His gaze remain fixed upon the darken silhouette of the face of the mountain as a crescent moon shown high above them. Now and then his gaze would steal towards Takumi and linger when the younger man wasn't noticing.

The habitual goose bumps appeared on Takumi's body upon being alone with Takahashi Ryousuke. He learned to dislike the weird feeling accompany it too since he has no control over that as well. Despite the respect he has for his mentor, Takumi really hated how awkward their exchanges tend to get. Thus, unsure of Ryousuke's current mood and the choice of topic the older man wanted to discuss, the Hachi-roku driver decided to wait.

He glanced over to Ryousuke and noticed the man's relaxing state and chose to emulate that. So he walked over toward the Hachi-roku, sat down on the warm bonnet and reclined his back on top of it. Raising both arms above his head, Takumi folded them to cushion beneath his head and gazed up at the moonlight filtering through the swaying tree tops. The chilly night was quiet except for the faint echoes of tire screeches. Nature's lullaby made its nocturnal creatures and the bristling of the leaves and under brushes hushed in the background.

After taking several calming drags, Ryousuke stubbed the cigarette on the guardrail, placed the lighter in his slack pocket, and turned his gaze back to Takumi's prone form. His brows furrowed together before he cleared his throat and took a page from his brother's tactics and quipped, "Promise me you won't get your underwear cross before I have my say."

The unexpected yet silly request made Takumi smile in response. Ryousuke smirked when his words had the desired effect. He took a mental reminder to note how his brother effectively communicate with Takumi from here on out. With slow, steady steps, he approached the Hachi-roku and loomed over the prone figure atop it. Noticing that Takumi still had his eyes fixed towards the sky, Ryousuke took the advantage and study the younger man further, wondering briefly what Takumi's response would be to his burgeoning question. He hadn't intended to be so direct, but Ryousuke was dying to know.

"Are you— attracted to Sagano Rui?"

Takumi's smile widen even further upon hearing that. If it was his mentor's attempt to carry on Keisuke's previous joking topic then, _that was a really good one,_ he thought. He was about to comment on it but his humor trailed off with uncertainty when he finally realized the odd solemnity of Ryousuke's tone. Takumi turned toward the speaker and saw that the older man was indeed, perfectly serious as his gaze was filled with the same intensity that Takumi had once seen before on that fateful night he joined Project D. And just like the other time, Takumi was entrapped by the pair of mesmerizing blue eyes.

Blinking away his growing nervousness, Ryousuke, unwavering in his intense scrutiny, slowly leaned forward and braced one arm to the right side of Takumi's head with the other near the younger man's waist. He then placed a bended knee between Takumi's parted legs to brace himself above the Hachi-roku driver. His keen eyes took in the response of the younger man beneath him with growing curiosity as a shiver of anticipation ran down his spine while he closed the distance between them to a mere inch apart.

Peering upwards at the intimidating figure, Takumi's earlier steady breaths became shallower as the distance between them closed to a mere inch away. The pounding within his ribcage echoed loudly as the staccato rang between his ears. Lips suddenly gone dry, Takumi absently parted his lips and glided his tongue across the parched expanse. And like before, Ryousuke's gaze drooped to a half lid as he followed the pink trail. Takumi's brows drew together at the older man's response.

Ryousuke in answer to the younger man's silent question raised those intense eyes to focus on Takumi's yet again. Takumi's breath hitched as Ryousuke leaned forward with just a hairbreadth apart from both their lips and spoke within a breath of a whisper, "How 'bout me?"


End file.
